Sydney's Centre for Thomistic Studies

Sydney's Centre for Thomistic Studies

Donald G. Boland

The Centre for Thomistic Studies Inc was formed by a group of
Sydney lay Catholics in 1985 for the purpose of continuing the work
begun in 1945 by the late Rev Dr A.M. Woodbury SM. Dr Woodbury,
affectionately known as 'the Doc', more than any other
person was responsible for bringing to the lay people of Australia
the wealth of wisdom and understanding to be found in the writings
of St Thomas Aquinas.

Pope John Paul II, in an address to Catholic youth, endorsed the
value for our own day of St Thomas' thought. 'The philosophy
of St Thomas', he said, 'deserves to be attentively
studied and accepted with conviction by the youth of our day by
reason of its spirit of openness and universalism: characteristics
which are hard to find in many trends of contemporary thought ...
As a Catholic you are heir to mankind's supreme intellectual
tradition'.

Cardinal George Pell has described the Centre for Thomistic
Studies 'as a superb example of the initiative of laymen and
women in promoting the study and understanding of philosophy and
theology under the wise guidance of St Thomas Aquinas',
adding that it made 'a valuable contribution to the life of
the Church in this city' and that he was 'happy to be
known as a supporter of the Centre'.

Everyone today is acutely aware of the concerted secular
'push', at all levels of popular and academic
education, to set in opposition both faith and reason, and religion
and science. The most effective way to counter this is to draw on
the insights of the great Catholic defenders of the faith who are
also acknowledged as champions of reason.

Dr Woodbury in his own day encountered these sorts of attacks
upon our ability to attain to the truth of things, though then it
was not done is such a brazenly anti-religious way as today. Some
may recall his confrontations with the academic philosophers at
Sydney University, notably Professor John Anderson, who had an
enormous influence on the thinking of many of the leading lights of
our Australian culture in the latter half of the 20th century.

Well before Vatican II Dr Woodbury saw the need to make
available to the laity what had for too long been the preserve of a
few, the treasures of Catholic wisdom to be found in the works of
Thomas Aquinas. In doing so, he echoed the wishes of Benedict XV,
who said in 1916, 'We esteem that it is also a most opportune
work to draw out, so to speak, the Angelic Doctor from the
enclosure of the School, in order to permit him to radiate outside
and to project the almost divine light of his genius on all those
who wish to make their religion more profound.'

We must be careful, of course, in the way we present St Thomas.
The mode of presentation that the scholastics of St Thomas' time
used needs to be adapted to the different mode of thinking that
applies today.

The same Pope also stressed something that is often
misunderstood about the study of 'the truth that the Catholic
faith professes' - the freedom of thought and expression that
is part and parcel of its discussion by all, laity and clergy
alike. In his first encyclical Benedict XV made a point of saying:
'As regards matters in which without harm to faith or
discipline - in the absence of any authoritative intervention of
the Apostolic See - there is room for divergent opinions, it is
clearly the right of everyone to express and defend his own
opinion'.

Search for truth

Truth and freedom necessarily go together. Those who come to the
Centre in Sydney will find that it is marked by a spirit of free
communication of ideas in the search for truth. As one of our
former students put it, 'I go to CTS because it is a real
community of scholars.'

It is not necessary, of course, to study St Thomas in order to
advance in our understanding of the truth that the Catholic faith
professes. St Thomas himself says somewhere that an unlearned
person of simple faith can be holier and wiser than the most
learned theologian. It is in charity, or the love of Christ, that
true wisdom is to be found. But, as the present Pope has said,
'A true love of Christ ... expresses itself also in the will
to know Him and everything that pertains to Him.' That is
what St Thomas' philosophy and theology are all about.

We should not feel that the study of these is too deep for us.
For Thomas was a great saint and so had the gifts of humility and
simplicity. What he has to say is suprisingly easy to understand,
especially for one familiar with the Scriptures. The experience of
one of our students is typical. 'What impresses us
most', he said, 'is the depth of knowledge of the
subject matter, but presented in an easy to understand
manner."'

The courses at the Centre are generally of 30 one hour lectures
over four terms held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings
commencing at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm. Full details of the program of
studies for 2008, lectures of which commenced on 25 February 2008,
can be found on the website below.

Fees are kept to an absolute minimum, starting at just $200 for
a one year course for non-degree students, with significant
concessions for students, etc. By reason of an affiliation with a
Pontifical University in Rome the Centre has the faculty to provide
courses towards a degree. Interested students may enrol to obtain
credits towards such a pontifical degree. Additional fees are
applicable here, details of which can be obtained on
application.

The Centre is open to everyone, with no prior qualifications
needed. It attracts people from all walks of life and all ages. Why
not come and find out more about the truth that the Catholic faith
professes?

Formerly a lawyer, Dr Donald Boland studied under Dr Woodbury
at the Aquinas Academy and from 1970 to 1985 taught philosophy at
various Catholic educational institutions in and around Sydney. He
has also taught Law at the University of Newcastle and Ethics at
the University of Technology, Sydney.

Since 1986 he has lectured at the Centre for Thomistic
Studies and many of his articles are available on the CTS
website.